Washington, March 26 : The brain's size does matter when it comes to intelligence, if a new study led by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, is to be believed.

The researchers say that their study shows a positive link between cognitive ability and cortical thickness in the brains of healthy 6 to 18 year olds.

According to them, the correlation is evident in regions that integrate information from different parts of the brain.

Washington, Mar 26 : Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is directly giving money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders fighting the US-led NATO forces, leading to rise in militant outfit's campaign in Afghanistan.

ISI's direct help is making possible the Taliban campaign in southern Afghanistan, despite Pakistani Government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to US Government officials.

Washington  - The US economic crisis is affecting not only Americans, but is having an increasingly bitter effect on their pets as well.

An ever-greater number of US citizens can no longer care for their animals because they have lost their jobs or their houses. As many as 1 million dogs and cats are in danger of losing their homes, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animal shelters in some southern states are already full.

Gary Weitzman points to a cage with three young shepherd puppies.

Washington - North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket onto a launch pad ahead of what Pyongyang says is a plan to place a satellite into space, a US official confirmed Wednesday.

"It is out there," the counter-proliferation official said. "It's the latest indication the North Koreans are moving forward with their announced plans to launch."

The official confirmed earlier Japanese media reports that the rocket was being moved onto the lift-off pad for North Korea's announced April 4-8 launch.

New York - US stock indices made gains Wednesday after government figures showed demand is rising for long-lasting goods and housing.

Durable goods orders increased 3.4 per cent in February, and purchases of new homes jumped 4.7 per cent, adding to a spate of slightly more positive economic news coming out of the United States in the last week.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.84 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 7,749.81, rallying during the final hour from a more than 100-point drop earlier in the afternoon.

Mexico City  - On her first visit to Mexico, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Wednesday emphasized that Washington was prepared to help shoulder the responsibility alongside Mexico for fighting the increasingly violent drug cartels south of the US border.

Before her meeting with President Felipe Calderon, Clinton remarked to reporters that the "insatiable demand" for illegal drugs in the US feeds the drug violence and trade. Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa joined the talks.